On Friday, Judge Stephanos Bibas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit granted legal research startup ROSS Intelligence’s motion for interlocutory appeal and stay pending appeal, allowing the Third Circuit to review his partial summary judgement that ROSS infringed on Westlaw content. The ruling is the latest development in Thomson Reuters’ lawsuit against ROSS alleging copyright infringement.
“Though I remain confident in my February 2025 summary judgment opinion, I recognize that there are substantial grounds for difference of opinion on controlling legal issues in this case,” Bibas wrote. “These issues have the potential to change the shape of the trial. I thus certify the following two questions to the Third Circuit: (1) whether the West headnotes and West Key Number System are original; and (2) whether Ross’s use of the headnotes was fair use.”